


Animal Party

by Rukachan



Series: Comfy survivor trio stories [4]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Animals, Gen, Living Together, NDRV3 Spoilers, Post-Canon, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 07:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13899237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rukachan/pseuds/Rukachan
Summary: Saihara and co. visit a pet shop and a shelter as well.





	Animal Party

When the survivor trio had woken up that morning, the morning sun greeted them, blazing passionately as Maki pulled the curtains open while Himiko rubbed the sleep sand out of her eyes. Saihara was usually the one who woke up the earliest, but this time he decided sleep in a bit longer.

When Saihara rose up, he saw Maki working in the kitchen with her usual uniform and apron on, cooking breakfast for three... she'd gotten better at cooking as of late. He also saw Himiko teary-eyed, clearly depressed and in her thoughts, still wearing her sleepwear... the view startled him.

"Yumeno-san, what's wrong? Why the long face? Y-You're not suffering from allergies or anything, are you?" She shook her head and wiped her eyes once more, trying her best to block any more tears from falling.

"M-My tiger... M-My poor, dear tiger..."

"...Tiger? Wait, you used to have a tiger?!" Saihara moved his hands around in surprise, with Himiko nodding in approval.

"Well, it was my master's, but still... It was one my my Master's familiars. He left it in my care most of the time. Taiga was so cute and fluffy, and knew so many tricks... it was the most magical tiger I'd seen..." She let out a sigh before continuing, "...and I watched him grow from a cub to a reliable, strong familiar! ...But Taiga disappeared alongside my Master... I've been missing him even before we were teleported into the dark prison academy..." 

"Master had a huge variety of pets, but Taiga was just... the best..." Himiko giggled, bringing her arms around herself, as if remembering the feeling of holding Taiga in her arms, with him cuddling on her chest.

"For such a grand magician's familiar, his name sure was pretty plain, huh...?" Saihara scratched his head, looking at her, earning a pout from her.

"The name doesn't matter! What mattered the most was his potential... and cuddliness...!" She sighed in joy, bringing her hands to her lap and then once again around herself.

"...Ah, that's right. Himiko, I've been thinking of checking out the pet shop for a while now..." Maki suddenly remarked, and both Himiko and Saihara tilted their heads in harmony.

"Now that you mentioned your precious tiger cub, I thought it'd be a good moment to bring it up..."

"Wow! Harumaki, you're a real genius! Can you use the 'Foresee' spell or something? How'd you guess so well?!"

"Well, if you're putting it that way... hehe... not telling." She giggled, bringing her finger in front of her mouth, as if to emphasize that she was keeping a secret.

"So should that be our task of the day? Visiting the pet shop by the shopping street?" Saihara smiled, with Himiko grinning at his suggestion. They were going to have a fun day out there. 

 

After getting dressed up, the trio headed out to the shopping streets. It was still morning, almost noon, so the streets weren't exactly bustling with people, and the atmosphere was rather calm. It was perfect for their little mission. The morning sun had slightly hidden behind the clouds, but nonetheless it was still another bright day in the town they had peacefully settled down to... with no Danganronpa fans to be seen anywhere.

There was a pet shop and an animal shelter next to each other a little bit farther, closer to the bus and train station.

Though they weren't 100% familiar with the area yet, Himiko had courageously (yet with shaky legs at first) marched into the station and performed her infamous magic shows a couple times alone. One time she had managed to rope Maki into the play as well, and they had attracted a lot more customers together. Next time she was planning to use some kind of a spell to make Saihara join her as well... but not go as far as brainwash him or anything.

"Bunnies! And birds! It's all what mages need for their tricks!" She spun around in place, her other leg in the air as they were walking.

Though both the pet shop and animal shelter looked plain on the outside, the trio were excited to open the doors and discover what kind of secrets lay before them. Himiko ran first in through the automated doors, and gasped in wonder as they saw all the surprises and animals making noise or just sitting quietly.

 

"Which section should we go through first?!" She couldn't hold her excitement in anymore. "Hmm, you can decide which order we go through in, Yumeno-san." Saihara affirmed her question, and she gave out another nod and a happy sigh.

As they walked around, Himiko - without noticing - bounced to the marine section. Her face went slightly pale at the sight of the harmless-looking fish opening their mouths.

Before Saihara and Maki arrived Himiko looked at the glass tank once more, before yelping and hiding behind the two, her skirt fluttering alongside her movements.

"Wait, are you  _actually_ afraid of all fish?  _Seriously_?" Maki looked at her in disbelief, and she just whimpered more. "Yet you're fine with eating them?"

"T-That's an entirely different thing, Harumaki! They're already dead when I eat 'em! I-I've drained their MP outta 'em and they have no chance to use Revive magic at all!"

"Haha, I'm just joking. Of course you can eat them, otherwise you couldn't have managed to eat that fish dish we ate on Monday."

"You really looked like a rabbit just now, Yumeno-san."

"Y-You saw nothing! I'll cast the 'Forget Everything That Happened in the Last 5 Minutes' spell--!" She flailed her fists around weakly, embarrassment evident on her face.

Suddenly Maki took a hold of her sides and lift her up, holding Himiko - who had now gone quiet and her expression neutral - steadily.

"Calm down. It's fine if you're as clumsy as ever, but don't get too heated at a pet shop. Okay?" A smile slowly formed on her face, and she nod, before Maki slowly lowered her down to the ground. "If you do, I'll use an Ice spell on you or something." Then Maki pat Himiko's left cheek gently, before moving her hands back to her sides.

 

After they had been surfing through the pet shop in circles, Saihara decided to escape from the world of glass tanks and different cages.

"Oh, I'm gonna go check out the animal shelter! Catch up with me whenever you feel like!" Saihara announced before walking towards the automated doors and stepped out, then taking about 10 steps to reach the shelter's old-fashioned door. As he left he'd noticed how sharp and cautious Maki's eyes looked from the corner of his eye as a worker approached them, asking whether they needed  help.

Both an old lady and a younger, twin-tailed girl greeted him as he set foot into the store, before showing him the two sides of the shelter, one for the dogs and the other for cats. He chose the side for the cats, and got led there while chit-chatting with his guide.

The younger girl gave him some instructions: she handed him a plate of cat treats, saying you can feed them only a bit because they try to give them as balanced a diet as possible so that they stay healthy and in best condition before somebody adopts them. Saihara thanked the girl and noticed a second thing: the back of her white T-shirt had the logo of a red-and-white dice with the symbol of a clown's mask on it.

He felt like he'd seen the logo before, but gave up on thinking as he sat down on the floor. Saihara watched a kitten approach him and then greet him loudly when it stopped next to him.

"Oh hey, it's a Russian Blue... And looks exactly just like what Hoshi-kun had described to me."

He remembered back to the days where he'd listened to Hoshi talk about his past - his trials, his suffering, and his blood-stained, heartbreaking revenge. He also used to have a Russian Blue - who was his only friend after all that had happened - but thought it hated him because it had suddenly disappeared one day...

_That isn't the truth at all, Hoshi-kun... If you were so fond of it I'm sure even the cat really liked you. I mean, if it kept coming back to you... that is a pretty clear sign."_

_He just shrugged his shoulders and took a small bite of his mint candy cigar, but Saihara knew he was happy rather than sad after hearing his reassuring words... even if it wasn't outwardly obvious._

_"Well, whatever. I hope it's safe out there somewhere though. It'd be heartbreaking if it ended up in some kinda 'accident' 'cause of me..."_

_"I don't want people to involve themselves with me anymore... and I really mean it, Saihara. Please stay away from me."_

He smiled bitterly at the memory and without noticing, had moved his hand to pet the feline's fluffy fur. The kitten purred into his touch, a small blush of happiness occupying Saihara's face automatically from the sound. He took one of the cat treats and held it in his hands before the kitten snatched it. Saihara laughed at the action, before feeding the rest of the treats to it one by one.

 

A cheerful "thank you! Please visit us again!" rang behind Saihara as he left the shelter with his hands inside his pants pocket and a content smile on his face. The smell and the warmth of the cat hadn't left his hands even after washing them, but he didn't care. He liked the affection it'd have given him, the warmth of it even warming him up more than the afternoon sun peeking out of the clouds.

He suddenly heard Maki call out his name, and was ready to greet them with a smile, until he saw what had happened to the two girls emerging from the gray building... 

"Your clothes have so much fur on them! What happened?" Small pieces of animal fur were stuck on Himiko's jacket and skirt, before she slowly started swiping them off to the ground with her hands.

"The canines bared their fangs at me, and I had a hard time escaping from their cluthes...!" Himiko dramatically acted. 

"...She kind of started wrestling with a very fluffy puppy who jumped into her hands. I advised her to stop, but she was totally engrossed in it..." Maki held her fingers on her mouth as she described what had happened, letting out a small laugh. Himiko pout at her for "ruining" her moment and then just laughing at her.

"A-Anyway, this has been a good day! I feel like my happiness bar has regained somewhat!"

"You feel happy?"

"Yeah! Why are you asking that, Harumaki? Also, there's some fur mixed to your hair, Harumaki!" Maki shaked her head both sides, watching the white hair drop the ground like shed skin.

"Well, even if we didn't buy a pet, at least we managed to cheer you up, Yumeno-san!" Saihara smiled, before Himiko's eyes lit up, as if she'd had an epiphany.

"S-So it was all because of me?!" Maki giggled at her reaction, and then gave a reaffirming nod. Himiko let out the biggest smile she'd down that day, a stream of "thank you"s streaming from her mouth.

"So, what do you want to do after this? Go home, or keep going?"

"Umu, today's adventure isn't over yet. Look at this pamphlet - it says there's a cat cafe nearby! That might be a good MP restoration shrine! Let's get in there!" Himiko exclaimed, pointing her finger at the pamphlet in her hands, before folding it into her jacket's pocket and quickly taking hold of both Maki and Saihara's hands. She began dragging the two with an excited face. Maki giggled at the sight, while Saihara tried his best at containing Himiko's vigor.

"I wonder if there's a farm somewhere close, too! Himiko wants to see farm animals!" She happily exclaimed once more as she pulled Maki and Saihara along with her, talking about her previous farm trips when she'd gone there with her master, said she'd learned how to turn a chicken into a cow with her magic, and so on, before they reached their final destination of the day.

**Author's Note:**

> Might the twintailed girl be related to someone Saihara knows...? :P


End file.
